This invention is concerned with fibers prepared from a linear alternating polymer of carbon monoxide and an ethylenically unsaturated hydrocarbon.
The class of polymers of carbon monoxide and olefin(s) "polyketones", has been known for some time. Brubaker, U.S. Pat. No. 2,495,286, produced such polymers of relatively low carbon monoxide content in the presence of the free radical initiators, e.g., peroxy compounds. U.K. 1,081,304 produced similar materials of higher carbon monoxide content in the presence of alkylphosphine complexes of palladium salts as catalyst. Nozaki extending this process to produce linear alternating polymers in the presence of arylphosphine complexes of palladium moieties and certain inert solvents. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,694,412.
More recently, the class of linear alternating polymers of carbon monoxide and at least one ethylenically unsaturated hydrocarbons, e.g. ethylene or ethylene and propylene has become of greater interest in part because of the improved availability of the polymers. These polymer, often referred to polyketones or polyketone polymers have been shown to be of the repeating formula --CO--(A)--wherein A is the moiety of an ethylenically unsaturated hydrocarbon polymerized through the ethylenic unsaturation. For example, when the ethylenically unsaturated hydrocarbon is ethylene the polymer will be represented by the repeating formula --CO--(CH.sub.2 --CH.sub.2)--. The general process for the more recent publication of such polymers is illustrated by a number of published European Patent Applications including 121,965 and 181,014. These process typically involve a catalyst composition formed from a compound of a Group VIII metal, selected from palladium, cobalt or nickel, the anion of a strong non-hydrohalogenic acid and a bidentate ligand of phosphorous, arsenic or antimony.
Even though there have been disclosed numerous processes for preparing polyketones, the polyketones have generally not been blended with other substances to form blends usable as fibers